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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-01-20, Page 1PUBLISHED IN '''LUCKNOW, ONTARIO ' ednesday, Ja :nary 20,1993 50°G..T. Included_ or 417¢plus 3£ G.S.T. Rally will see farmers converge in Lucknow by Scott Hilgendorff Ontario farmers may be facing as much as a $1. billion shortfall this year. Poor crop yields, low prices for poor quality of crops and lack of insurance have helped create a disastrous situation for Ontario farmers said "A Line in the Dirt" member, Paul Frayne of Ashfield Township. To combat this disaster A Line in the Dirt, a local movement made up of farmers who want to help agri- culture.,propucers in hard economic times, is/planning a rally for Feb. 4 in Lucknow. "The reason we are holding this Hear.. about • by Mike Robinson ' Over .250 parents, - faculty-- and students were on hand at F.E.Madilt Secondary School on January 11 to look at the pros and cons of Grade 9 "destreaming." The high school gymnasium was filled to near capacity on both the main floor and the galleries above, as people arrived to learn more about "destreaming" andhowiit will affect F.E. Madill. Students entering Grade 9 will first feel the. effects of the "transition" in September 1993. General Huron County Transition Years co-ordinator Debi Homuth said that although destrearhing is the most talked about aspect of change, the Transition. Years is, in reality, a • • restructuring of Grades 7 to 9. Mrs. . • Homuth stressed any change to Huron's education system cannot, compromise its three main goals. • "For better or • worse academic learning is the school's number one goal," she said. The second goal is to protect and rally is to address the shortfall and the lack of a specific third line of defence," said Mr. Frayne. Mr. Frayne .said the first line of defence is the farmer followed by existing assistance programs in the second line. According to Mr. Frayne, the federal government said it would create a third line if the first two weren't enough. "We think the only adequate 'response for a third line of defense is an immediate cash infusion into the economy of all of Canada," said Mr. Frayne. In the 1986/87 year, farmers were given a subsidy in the form of a Special Grains Program where farmers received compensation on a "Per acre" basis. At an organizational meeting at • Reid's Corners Hall on Jan. 13, headed by Fred Phillips ' of Lucknow, committees were formed to look after the details of the rally which will be similar tri one held in September of 1991. At that rally, more than 1,000 farmers descended do the Lucknow Community Centre to voice their concerns with representatives from all three political parties. A.list of speakers still has to be finalized for the Feb. 4 rally but several speakers wilt be available from both political and agricultural aspects. It has been more than a year since the last rally and with the sexpected. $1 . billion shortfall, Mr. Frayne said, "we're not prepared to wait impact of destreaming provide for a student's 'personal development: We -must provide for the personal development of "all" students, she said. The third goal is to provide opportunities for students. to see themselves as members of a team, Mrs. Homuth said. • "The result is worth the effort if our goals are not compromised." The vision of a Grade 9 program is not just about destreaming, she said. Students of mixed ability will be in the classroom together, but exceptional and gifted student needs will still be net, Mrs. Homuth said. Students learn in different ways and at different rates, therefore new strategies are needed for the teachers, she said. This approach will allow -Grades 7 to 9 students to prepare for the needs of a rapidly changing world and allow them to "try out a year' of high school before choosing courses for Grade 10." Mrs. Homuth said parents may question why Grade 9 would be Andy's nam Lucknow's community -oriented police officer Andy Burgess, has been selected as Kincardine's 1992 Citizen of the Year. The announce- • ment was made last week by the Kincardine Chamber of Commerce. Andy's reaction: "1 was kind of shocked, I never thought of being part of it. I don't think I even said thank -you when 1 hung up." A senior constable 'With the .Kincardine detachment of the Ontario 'Provincial Police, Andy is involved in Community Oriented", Policing in Huron and Kinloss Townships, Ripley and Lucknow. As such he attends community meetings in those areas and accord- ing to his Staff Sergeant Al Neville "Andy does an excellent job in establishing community relations. 'He's very active and very well liked in the townships and villages as well as Kincardine" Andy is been. With': the Kincardine detachment since 1965, when he moved here fresh from. Police College in Aylmer. Kincardine's recreation director Keith Davidson said Mr. Burgess is a `prime example of someone who does a lot of work behind the scenes. "He's a great (community recreation volunteer. What a won- derful selection as citizen of the year. We're a better community because of him." . Andy...was a member of the corn- ed citizen mittee that was responsible for the construction of the track at the centre. The track was developed about four years ago, yet Andy still spends a lot of his spare time fin- ishing off little jobs that still need to be done there. According to Mr. Davidson, Andy is "always chipping in somewhere". He's also an official starter for the Legion and Saugeen Track Club meets as well as the CWOSSA meets, which will be held at the Davidson Centre track again this year. When he's not at the track, he's busy with the Athletic Field. Devel- opment Committee, the group involved in developing Legion Park on the south side of town. He's hoping there will be baseball games at the park this summer. Andy is' also a member. of the Northern Lights Masonic Lodge and serves on the 'board of general purpose for the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario and is an honorary member of the Royal Canadian Legion as well as a member of the Board of Managers at Khox Presbyterian Church. Andy's father was a minister at South Kinloss Church and his mother was from Culross . Town- ship. They met at the Kintail Church camp, Andy said. Andy went to high school in Hanover and attended Waterloo "destreamed," but ,asked if a 14 - year -old is ready to make a choice which would affect the .rest of his/her life. The new Grade 9 program would provide a rich and challenging program to all students, Mrs. Homuth said. "Every student at F.E. Madill has the right to an excellent education." • Implementation While Mrs. Homuth dealt with the philosophical arguments of ' destreaming, Madill principal Herb Murphy explained his responsibility to take these concerns and create a school which functions well and provides a first Blass education. He said that according to the Ministry of Education policy/program mem- orandum this will mean instruction Shall be organized towards learning outcomes. Students will have to meet provincial benchmarks for ' learning outcomes - the skills and knowledge students are expected to turn to page 2 of the year for any specific leadership on the issue from any other farm groups and have decided to take the initiat- ive on behalf of Ontario farmers." "We would like to see farmers who are in support of our idea to support us by either coming directly . to the rally [the evening of Feb. 4] or, preferably coming to a tractor rally on the same date that would arrive at the raily location," he said. As a result, the highways and . concession roads in the Lucknow area could becorhe congested with farmers drivingtheir tractors to the rally. Mr. Phillips encouraged farmers who couldn't come by tractor to at least join the tractor rally with,their pick-up trucks. He told the A Line in . the Dirt Members they are hoping to see as many as 500 tractors in the, rally. John King, a representative from the Goderich area, was asked what the situation was like in that area. He said he was not sure how badly farmers have been affected by this year's poor yields because most farmers are reluctant to talk about their hard limes with neighbours. If they told anyone, he said it would likely be -someone like their minister. One sign he said to watch for is children going to school with empty lunch pails. ' He was asked to find some examples from the Goderich area to help illustrate the situation to those attending the rally. Plans for the rally are being final- ized this week. "While our immediate views don't represent a long term solution to agriculture's problems they 'will perhaps help out those in the most immediate need," said Mr. Frayne. Will repair rescue van The damaged rescue van 'for the Lucknow and District Fire Department will be repaired. Richard Foster, the new chair of the firee board said, "It will . be returned toservice as a van with no passenger :capacity: It was deemed too dangerous' to have people riding inthe back" Tile repaired vehicle will in the future be . used as a straight equipment van, which accommo- dates one passenger in the front beside the driver. Chief Peter Steer said the van has been removed by Montgomery Motors. It has been - sent to Stoney Creek where a new• box will be installed. He presumed it would be returned to Montomgery's' for painting and lettering. The fire board members are in the process of looking into acquiring a new pumper truck with crew cab. Mr. Foster said the board realized they were facing this purchase because under the Mutual Aid Agreement a department's primary vehicle canbeno older than 15 years. Lucknow's pumper truck is considered its primary vehicle and it is over 15 years old. The crew cab on the new pumper truck will allow for safe transportation of firefighters and will eliminate the unsafe practice of using the back of the rescue van to carry personnel. - Mr. Foster said the board has received "a ;good, tentative offer • on the old pumper.'' He sug- gested that a firm decision on which pumper truck would be purchased could come as early as this week. Lutheran University (now called Wilfrid. Laurier) which is where he met his wife Barb who now teaches `~--- history at KDSS. r, Straight from University, Andy joined the OPP and attended the Police College in Aylmer. He, began • his policing career in Kincardine. A proud father, Andy beams with . pride as he talks about ,his three children. Jenny, 22 and a fourth year stu- • dent at Lakehead University is captain of the varsity basketball team. Jenny's team, which is sev- enth in the standings, has been travelling to different Canadian Universities the past few months and will be playing in London the • weekend of January 23, the evening the 'Chamber of Commerce will be holding a dinner in Andy's honor. "We'll be able to see the game on Friday night and Jenny will have to forgive me when we don't get there the next night," Andy said. • His other daughter Lauren, 20 is a second year Art History student at Carleton. . Andy's son Luxon, 12 is a grade seven -student at Elgin' Market Pub- lic School. "This community has given me a great •place to live and a great place to raise our children. I have never found anyone I couldn't work with. It's a hobby for me to participate in • turn topage2 Andy Burgess, Lucknow's community oriented police officer, who Is a resident of Kincardine, was voted as that town's 1992 Citizen of the Year, A senior constable with the Kincardine OPP, Mr. Burgess Is known for donating his time to the youth of the area as well as numerous recreation projects. (Bev Fry 'photo)